Deftones – private music – Album Review
by Killian Laher

Deftones recently released their tenth album, private music (stylised in all lowercase), their first in nearly five years.  Billed as a thinking man’s metal band, the album is filled with heavy but accessible tunes.  Opening with the sledgehammer riffs of my mind is a mountain combined with Chino Moreno’s laidback vocals, it’s something of a slow-burning opener, but it doesn’t outstay its welcome, gone in less than 3 minutes.  It’s followed by the semi-Alice In Chains riffs of locked club as Moreno alternates shouty vocals with actual crooning!

Nothing outstays its welcome, between the riff-heavy ecdysis or the gazey, stomping infinite source, which is almost heavy pop.  One of the highlights of the album is the anthemic souvenir.  The longest track at over six minutes, here everything soars – guitars, vocals… but it doesn’t stop there.  The intensity drops back towards the end, finishing with what sounds like some sort of organ.

i think about you all the time starts off slowly, building gradually to a superb heavy payoff.  The leaning towards accessibility nearly goes too far with milk of the madonna where they go all Kasabian with Moreno roaring “I’m on fire” in the chorus over some more catchy riffs.  Even their forays into shouty rap metal on cut hands and ~metal dream work well, as the guitar riffs are just so damn good.

Sometimes you just need some cathartic, heavy tunes to roar along to, and for these moments, this will do nicely.  As strong an album as Deftones have put out.

infinite source